Why Dog Dads Shouldn't Date - Russell Markert
by Kessie-Louise
Summary: In a 'lost' episode of the Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show, Mr Peabody… goes on a date? Meanwhile, in Time Travel, Peabody and Sherman help Russell Markert find a signature act of his Missouri Rockets (the future Radio City Rockettes) before their first big gig on Broadway. [implied Peabody/OC][MPaSS bias][complete!]
1. Enter the Circus

It was a beautiful New York night to air some live television. In his dressing room, Mr Peabody prepared for another night of great historical guests, and whatever unexpected calamity that was also destined to derail the show in some form or another. He did have the feeling that he was forgetting something, but couldn't place from what. By the time he had an inkling of what he was missing, it was time for curtain call.

"Ladies and gentleman," Orchoptitron announced as the show began, "Dreamworks Animation proudly presents, your hosts, Mr Peabody and his boy Shermannn!"

As per the usual, Mr Peabody and Sherman descending their respective staircases and onto the main stage.

"Hello everyone!" Mr Peabody greeted. "Tonight's show is going to quite a good one indeed! You see, first we have-"

Peabody was cut off at the sound of the elevator door opening. Everyone turned to look at the interrupter- and it was someone no one had ever seen before. It appeared to be a woman in her mid twenties with an average height and athletic build, she had some hints of Indonesian descent with her course dark hair french braided into a low bun. The unknown woman wore a turquoise, cap-sleeved wrap dress that tied at the waist and paired it with chunky black platform heels. She was absolutely radiant under the studio lights- that is, until she noticed the studio lights, and then the studio cameras, and then the studio audience...

"Oh… Mylanta..." the woman whimpered as she started to back up to the elevator in escape.

"Jane, wait!" Mr Peabody immediately reacted. He rushed over to her and took her hand. The woman looked down at him and for a moment gave a sign of relief while also looking terribly panicked.

"You know this person Mr P?" Sherman curiously inquired, looking the woman up and down suspiciously.

Giving a sigh, Mr Peabody turned his attention back to the audience. "Everyone in the audience this is… Jane. She's… she's my date for tonight."

"You have date!?" declared a shocked Sherman- the studio audience themselves giving proud claps at the dog's decision to get into the dating game.

"Well, yes." Peabody agreed before started to rub the bridge of his nuzzle. "However, I had forgotten to schedule our date for after the show- not during." To Jane he said, "I'm so sorry Jane. I didn't mean to do this to you."

"This… is live, right?" the woman asked, eyeing the cameras in some fear.

To this, Mr Peabody gave a bright smile and even stood a bit straighter. "Why yes!" he agreed, leading the audience into another celebratory applause.

"Hey Mr P!" Sherman then cut in, "I just had an idea! What if… you and Jane had your date during our show tonight!"

"What?" Mr Peabody and Jane then questioned, each with their own tone of surprise. The audience seemed to eat the idea up as if it were the greatest thing since sliced bread. Hearing them slowly dictate what had been promised a quiet evening, Jane quietly asked;

"So our date... will be broadcasted… On _live_ television?"

"Exactly!" Sherman cheerfully declared, granting another applause from the audience.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, Jane." Mr Peabody assured her. "We can always reschedule."

"I'm already here." she offered with a weak smile.

"Well then," Mr Peabody decided, "Sherman, if you will, the Time Travel envelope!"

"I've got it right here Mr P!" the boy happily told them as he started to dig through his pockets. What he pulled out was definitely not an envelope. "Here it is! Oh wait, no that's my virtual pocket pet. Hang on… It's right, oh wait, no, that's my toothbrush."

"You just… keep that in your pocket?" questioned Jane under her breath. Sherman didn't seem to hear her as he dug further into his pockets, pulling out several more dubious items before finally pulled out the envelope.

"Told ya I had it." the boy proudly declared before giving the envelope to Mr Peabody.

"Thank you Sherman." the dog thanked before turning his attention to the audience. "Now, please give a warm welcome to Mrs Arugula Hughes everyone!"

From her usual entrance, the old lady that was hardly ever seen without her desk rolled beside the trio. Preparing her stamp to notarize the envelope, Mrs Hughes noticed Jane and gave a few inquisitive grunts.

"Oh, this is Jane." Mr Peabody answered as if it were no big deal. "Due to an error on my part, we're having our date during the show."

Mrs Hughes looked Jane over- giving the young woman the same feeling as being x-rayed without consent before the notary gave her approval, stamping the envelope and Jane's forehead. The act surprised Mr Peabody for a moment while Sherman and the audience gave a good laugh.

"Um..." the dog tried to say as he regained composure, "Mrs Hughes everybody!"

Watching Mrs Hughes roll away, Jane got down to Mr Peabody's height and carefully whispered;

"What kind of company to you keep here?"

"The kind that keeps things complicated." he hissed back. The funny look Jane gave him was meant to broadcast that she was not assured by this answer, but Mr Peabody ignored it for the time being. He still had a show to run, after all.

"So Jane," Mr Peabody then proudly told his date as he led her to his usual Time Travel spot, "This is the part were I do Time Travel, and there's a couch right here for you rest and collect some sanity before we continue."

"Thanks for the warning." Jane snorted as she sat down on said couch. Mr Peabody gave her a pleased smile before turning his attention to the time travel envelope. To the audience, he said,

"Oh, this one will be really good!"

. . .

Sherman and I used the WABAC to travel to 1925 Broadway to meet with the famous choreographer, Russell Markert. You see, Markert was the founder of the Radio City Rockettes- however, before their big debut (and before Radio City Music Hall was even built), they were only an aspiring dance troupe referred to as the 'Missouri Rockets.'

We were able to locate Markert in a rehearsal room at the Roxy Theatre, in which he was instructing his 16 very lovely ladies in their routine..

"One more time, from the top!" he commanded to the room with a clap of his hands. A collective groan from the dancers indicated that they were not happy at all with this.

"Urg, he said one more time five times ago!" one dancer complained.

"If we have to do that routine again, I'm going to _die_." another agreed in a droning whine.

"I think Susan _is _dead." someone else decided, pointing to one dancer who had fallen spread eagle with flies gathering around her body.

Seeing that his dancers were tired and bored out of their minds, Markert rubbed his temples before declaring, "Take five ladies." allowing a resounding sigh to collect throughout the room.

Seeing this as the opportunity to greet Markert, I humbly asked, "What seems to be the matter Russell?"

Giving me and Sherman a quick look at, Markert sigh. "My Missouri Rockets are set to perform before the Broadway play Rain or Shine tonight and I have word that a famous showman is going to be in the audience. So, I figured, why not give my dancers a signature act? Something that will really knock the socks off that guy?"

"So why don't you?" Sherman foolishly asked.

"Because boy!" Markert declared, "Memorable choreography is blood, sweat, and having a good insurance plan in case one of your dancers is injured! I've tried everything with my Rockets- salsa, time steps, even tribal rain dances!"

"I thought your dancers were trained intensively with ballet, tap, and jazz?" I curiously inquired.

"They are." Markert replied in a flat tone. "They're all wonderful girls, but no matter what we do, it just can't work in a single file line (because that's how all the best acts are performed, of course)."

"Why not something like this?" Sherman suggested before striking a pose- his hands at his hips, his leg out and feet pointed, his body turned roughly 45 degrees, and his head looking straight ahead. The sassy expression he held really completed the look.

Despite being rather impressed at first, Markert quickly shook his head. "No, no, no!" he insisted. "I need something _more_ than just a cute pose- it needs to have energy! Movement! Pure kinetic momentum!"

It was a very fascinating conundrum that Markert had gotten himself into, and if we couldn't help him, then one of America's most famous icons could never be realized…

. . .

"Welcome back everyone!" Sherman greeted as they came back from Time Travel. "Mr P is on a date! While it is kinda weird to have you r dad date someone you didn't know existed until now, it's also important that they know each other well! Which is why our next segment is called Coffee Cliche!"

The audience applauded at this- giving them some time, Sherman then went on to explain, "Everyone knows that the best place to meet your future s/o is at a small, local cafe! Which is why I have right here a complete cafe set, including real working cappuccino machines!"

"Sherman," Mr Peabody gently laughed, "Jane and I already..."

"Enough talking and put this on!" the boy declared as he slapped a barista uniform (complete with hipster goatee) onto his adoptive father. In a moment where Mr Peabody was sure he blacked out on, he found himself behind the counter of a cafe set. Jane, meanwhile, was getting pushed to the counter by Sherman. Once in place, the adults exchanged an awkward glance.

"So..." Mr Peabody started, if only to get this awful roleplay going. "How can I help you today?"

"Um..." Jane nervously started to say, "I… guess a latte? Being a single mother of a little girl is kinda hard sometimes, you know?"

"Oh, you have a daughter?" Mr Peabody mused as he made the latte. "I have son! How old is she?"

"Thirteen."

"Years? That's not much older than-"

"Months." Jane corrected. Surprised (for some reason) at the young age, Peabody suddenly lost his balance and the hot beverage went flying through the air. Everyone watched in awe and horror as it soared through the hair and right onto Jane.

The young woman let out a surprised yelp as the liquid started to run down her dress, falling over her shoes and onto the floor in an ungraceful heap. Much to her horror, the studio audience started to roar with laughter. Jane looked at them and fought the urge to scream as she started to scramble back to her feet and out of the penthouse.

"Jane!" Mr Peabody shouted as he tried to catch up with her, taking off his barista costume in the process. He only stopped for a moment to glare at the cameras. "Why are you still rolling?" he demanded. "Go to break! _Now_!"

* * *

_**Production Notes: After a series of random occurrences, I'm back! I'm just not... working on Nuclear... yet. I really love unconventional family that makes up Mr Peabody, Jane, Sherman, and Eleanor, I just have a hard time writing for them. x_x Besides Nuclear, I have a Sherman and Eleanor fic planned (that has been sitting since 2016) where the two are just home alone for a day or so while Peabody and Jane go on their third honeymoon. But this fic isn't either of those- it's a mock episode of The New Mr Peabody and Sherman show! I think I'm the... third person to do this? The difference though is that this isn't in script format like the others (mostly because script format is against FanFiction's guidelines, and also because I'm not comfortable writing that way) but hopefully I can get something that moderately resembles an episode of the show!**_

_**I'd place this episode sometime during Season 1, mostly because I want to OC insert Jane and Eleanor in a few key episodes; Favor for Christine and The Wrath of Hughes are two on my list. OC inserts are cathartic for the writer, fight me on it. Also, speaking of the show, do you think Maria Garcia would ship Jane and Peabody? Or do you think she would be a self shipper? Or maybe she'd ship Peabody with Mary Anning? Either way, I'm not sure how long each chapter will be- my word goal for Time Travel is about 300-500 words, so the rest can be left for the main bit and our fabulous production notes (aka author's note!).**_

_**Any who, enough rambling, thank you for reading and remember that coffee shop AUs are law!**_


	2. Slow Down Baby

"Jane, I'm so, so sorry." Mr Peabody apologized for the fifteenth time since the break started. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen..."

"You're a busy guy," came the disheartened chuckle, "And I just happen to be incredibly out of your league."

"Jane, that's not-" the dog tried to argue before realizing that the cameras were rolling again. "Wait- are we-?" he asked the crewman, who immediately nodded their head. So, putting on his showman composure, Mr Peabody addressed the audience, "Welcome back everyone! If you're just joining us, we would be surprised to know that tonight I'm on a date! However, it has been less than ideal so far and (with much coaxing) I have successfully convinced Sherman to dial it back a bit so Jane and I can enjoy a simple dinner."

"That's right!" Sherman happily declared, suddenly popping up next to the adults dressed in a waiter's outfit. "And to help us is Mr Hopson, Christine, and (from 115 AD Mesopotamia, the personal chef of the emperor Trajan) our historical guest, Apicius!"

The studio audience gave their applause as Hopson (dressed as a waiter), Christine (dressed in a glittery dress that had a rather generous split up the right leg), and Apicius (dressed in typical Mesopotamian wear with a modern sous-chef hat) humbly waved to them.

"Christine, what are you doing here?" Peabody immediately questioned. "I mean, it's obvious what everyone else is supposed to be doing, but what about you?"

"I'm your lounge singer, of course." the sassy black woman gleefully smirked. Knowing this, Mr Peabody gave a small groan while he rubbed the bridge of muzzle once more.

Regardless, the dog remembered his manners and offered his hand out to Jane. "M'lady." he said to her in a smooth voice. Jane smiled before taking his hand, allowing him to guide her to the table.

"Your menus." Hopson told them in a formal voice as he handed the duo their own, incredibly fancy looking, menus.

"The only thing on this menu is spaghetti… I'm pretty sure we've already done that gag." Mr Peabody dully noted. He looked over to Jane and was quick to notice that her hands were shaking as she held her menu. Curiously, he softly asked, "Jane?"

"I don't think I can handle meat right now." she mumbled. "Or tomato sauce. Or wheat..."

Tilting his head with some concern, Mr Peabody returned his menu to Hopson.

"We'll have a chicken Caesar salad with light olive oil." he told the building manager with confident.

"B-but we only have stuff to make spaghetti!" the nervous wreck of a man rebutted.

"And it's the only thing I know how to make!" Apicius also whined.

"Make it work." Peabody hissed. Then he turned his attention to the audience to announce, "As our chefs take a trip to the farmer's market, let's continue with our time travel adventure!"

. . .  
When we last left off, Sherman and I had come into acquaintance with Russell Markert, the founder of what will later be known as the Radio City Rockettes. However, Markert wanted a special act for his dancers to completely wow the socks off of a talent scout that would be at the Missouri Rocket's grand debut.

While I tried to help Markert with scientifically proven dance acts that could inspire a crowd (including the always celebrated can-can), Sherman became distracted by one dancer who was performing warm ups at a ballet barre.

"What'cha doin' there?" he inquired as the dancer did a small kick in the air and finished it with a small plié (prounced plee-ey, of course).

"A grand battement," the dancer replied in a rather snooty tone, "Pronounced bawt-mahn, of course."

"You… don't have to say it twice, I know how it sounds when you say it."

"Bold of you to assume that the readers know French." she huffed. "Regardless, it's a good exercise to help control lower body strength and to keep our hips from getting too stiff."

"Neat!" Sherman happily exclaimed, pumping his fists in the air, "Dancing is exercise too!"

Not as amused by Sherman's quirkiness as I am, the dancer rolled her eyes and continued with her warm up. Sherman watched the dancer with interest as she pushed her leg out a bit, swung it behind her, and then brought it back out in front. She then proceeded to perform three battements in the front, two to the side, and three in back before pirouetting around to go through the warm up on the other side. All the battements were reminding Sherman of something, but he couldn't quite place from where until...

"It's kinda looks like your kicking the-" Sherman started to observe before coming up with a genius idea. "Oh, hey that's it!" Turning to myself, my boy then happily declared, "The Rockets could do a high kick Mr. P!"

"Sherman, you're a genius!" I declared. "A high kick would be perfect to perform in a uniform line, while also displaying high energy and enthusiasm!"

Markert thought this idea over before getting hit with a realization of his own. "That's it!" he declared. To the dancers he shouted, "Ladies, back on the floor! We'll start from the line."

Wearily, the ladies did as they were told and formed a line.

"Now," Markert instructed, "I want you ladies to perform the highest kick in your life! You got that? Kinda like this," (he showed them one of the most perfect high kicks I have yet to see in my life) "Now, are you ready? Great! Now, a one, a two, a one, two, three, four!"

What happened next was nothing short of a disaster; none of the ladies moved at the same time, some could not even kick at 90 degrees, let alone 180, and one dancer toward the middle lost her balance and caused the entire line to fall flat on their perfectly toned tushies.

It seemed that if the Missouri Rockets planned on having their signature act down, they would first need a little more practice…

. . .

As everyone came back from time travel, the audience was being treated to Christine singing a song that would have gotten several copyright strikes from Nat King Cole. Mr Peabody and Jane had been served their food but neither seemed to interested in it.

"So, Jane..." Mr Peabody started, noting that he seemed to be the only one to stimulate communication between the two of them, "You mentioned you had a daughter? What about the father? Is he still…?"

To this, Jane gave a bitter snort. "Out of the picture. For good." she rebutted without a second thought. "Eleanor and I are completely free of that lame excuse for a human dude forever."

"Oh." Mr Peabody mused with some surprise. "Remember Jane, we are on live television."

"I know." came the quick answer.

"A-alright then." the dog then nervously chuckled. "What about the rest of your family? Surely your parents are still around?"

"A worse bees nest than Eleanor's birth giver." Jane insisted, taking a swing of the non-alcoholic wine that Sherman had poured for the duo not long before. "They split when I was 13 and they are quite quick to love me as much as they despise each other."

"Oh..." Mr Peabody recoiled. "I… I didn't know that. I'm sorry."

"Well now you know," came the cruel reply. "And so does the country. Cheers." and with that, she finished her glass in one swing.

"Any music?" Peabody then quickly suggested. "I'm partial to Enrico Caruso myself, with a bit of Chopin for good measure."

For a moment, Jane did not reply- her face was started to glow a rather faint pink though. "Christina Aguilera." she admitted in a small voice. "Her fifth studio album is my comfort blanket."

"Oh! I know that one!" Christine butted in, dramatically throwing herself on the table, causing both Peabody and Jane's plates to go flying.

"My perfectly crafted salad!" Apicius cried. He flopped down to the ground to try and recollect what remained of the ruined dinner. In tears he wept, "How dare you do this! How dare you do this in front of my salad!"

No one was really paying attention to him, as Christine was still fabulously posed on the table in between Peabody and Jane. And, because he was the butt of so many jokes, Mr Peabody was the one who had full view of Christine's well defined black girl booty.

"Give me a track number honey!" Christine happily told Jane as she switched her pose with an even more dramatic one.

"I… I don't know." the meek woman sputtered. "Track 6, I guess?"

"Oh, that's a good one!" Christine enthused before starting to sing- she was cut short by Mr Peabody.

"Are you _nuts_ Christine?" he demanded as he shoved her off the table. "We don't have the money for a licensed song on this show!"

"Maybe just the refrain? So everyone knows what song it is, at least?"

"No."

Christine folded her arms and let out an indignant huff. "You always ruin my fun." she even bothered to pout.

"And you're ruining my date _and_ show!" Peabody spat back. Hearing this, Christine let out a loud, incredibly dramatic gasp of outrage. She continued this gasp as she backed away from the couple, toward the elevator, into the elevator, and even continued as the elevator doors closed shut. With Christine gone, everyone shifted a bit; now what?

"Tell me about Sherman." Jane spoke up, hoping to change the air a bit. "Like, what _is_ his last name if your name is just Mr Peabody? I mean, I know you told me you do have a first name, but I'm curious."

"Well, ahem, you see- Sherman doesn't actually have a last name. His full name is literally just… Sherman."

"I don't know," Jane then smiled, "Sherman Barlow sounds pretty nice." It took a solid thirty seconds before Jane realized what she said and then looked absolutely horrified with herself. "What… did I just say?"

"I believe it's called flirting." Mr Peabody teased, finding himself quite amused so far. "Just like this next sentence: Jane, have you read of a series of questions that are supposed to help two people fall in love?"

Giving him a curious side glance, Jane tilted her head to answer, "Not really. Why?"

"Would you like to partake in those questions with me?" the old dog cleverly suggested. "We can do them away from the cameras out by the pool."

"Sure."

"W-what? Really?"

To this Jane gave a genuine little laugh. "Break's coming up, right? You're not obligated to do anything show related until then, right?"

Definitely impressed with her reasoning, Mr Peabody jumped out of his seat to declare, "Why wait until break?" before helping Jane up. The two then happily made their way outside, leaving behind a rather confused looking Sherman, Hopson, and Apicius.

"What just happened?" Hopson asked with a tilt of his head.

"I… don't want to know." Sherman decided. To the audience he said, "But we'll be right back after these messages!"

* * *

_**Production Notes: Doing Jane/Peabody stuff again made me flesh out Jane and Eleanor's history a bit more. What we know about Eleanor's father is more or less hinted at in Nuclear, but Jane's parents were never discussed. Also, the Christina Aguilera album mentioned is Back to Basics- but I won't tell you what song Jane suggested Christine sing. You have enough hints to figure it out on your own. ;)**_

_**Also, I would very much like to let what ever unlucky reader that is reading this sentence to know that, when I wrote the phrase 'perfectly toned tushies' I laughed for a good ten minutes while simultaneously hating myself. Another writing thing that happened (or rather, didn't happen) was that Jane was going to change clothes between break- changing into something Christine had given to her out of the generosity of her heart. Lamenting that she and Christine had different body types, Jane would then be subject to Peabody doing some alterations before going 'wow, she's really, really pretty.' However, since there was not much room for it, it was cut so Jane is still wearing the dress she was introduced in with the coffee stains magically gone. Not that the average reader would really care, but I'm the writer and it's one of those things that would keep one up at night.  
**_

_**Thank you for reading and remember, the '36 questions to guarantee falling in love with someone' is a real thing and you should totes look it up... for science.**_


	3. Here to Stay

"Welcome back everybody!" Sherman greeted the audience as the show came back from break. "If you're just joining us, Mr Peabody is on a date tonight. Before the break, he and Miss Jane went outside to talk about something and have yet to come back." The boy paused for a moment before admitting, "And I have _no_ idea what we're supposed to do next."

Hearing this, the audience then began to cheer Sherman on to continue the show on his own. Their encouragement gave Sherman an idea, leading him to smile wide at the thought.

"So," he happily declared, "I guess that means it's time for SHERMAN'S CORNER!"

The audience gave a happy applause as the logo for Sherman's Corner came across the screen. As it faded away, everyone was greeted to Sherman in his usual place for his personal segment.

"Today on Sherman's Corner," he then explained, "I have a little segment that I like to call, 5 Reasons Why it's Weird When Your Dad Dates."

The audience gave their applause as a clumsy title card (that just barely fit all of the words on the screen) flashed on the screen for a few moments before going back to Sherman. Gathering himself for a moment for dramatic effect, Sherman then proudly declared;

"Reason number 1: your dad isn't here to help you with the show! Not that you couldn't do it on your own, really, but it feels better. Plus it's father-son bonding time, and how often does that happen when you're always getting ready for the show or doing homework?" Sherman paused for a moment before whispering, "Just don't tell him that I'm behind in algebra."

"Reason number 2," the boy went on, "Miss Jane has a kid? Then why didn't she bring them! Like, this whole time we could be bored together or maybe could have sneaked off to something far more interesting than watching Mr P flirt… urg..." To this, the boy imitated the act of throwing up before shaking the thought away. Recomposing himself, he went on.

"Reason number 3: This is possibly the most important one of all!" Sherman declared. "Watching your parent flirt with another parent is so totally-"

Sherman was cut off as Jane and Mr Peabody came back into the penthouse, laughing rather loud but enjoying each other's company. It was Peabody who realized that they were back on air.

"Oh, are we live?" the dog asked in some tone of confusion.

"_Yeah_." Sherman agreed with an unnerved eyeroll.

"Then why are you just standing around?" the dog inquired, putting his hands on his hips in a chastising manner.

"Time travel?" Sherman impatiently reminded his father.

"Oh, right!" the dog agreed as if he had forgotten the fact. Being the gentleman that he was, Peabody once more offered his arm to Jane – to which she happily accepted – before guiding her back to the time travel chair, and the couch next to it.

Making sure that Jane was comfortable on the couch, Mr Peabody took his place in the time travel chair as he pulled out the Time Travel envelope. "Now," he mused, "Where were we?"

. . .

Now that he had a signature act for his Rockets, Russell Markert needed to get his ladies in line. Almost literally!

"What are we going to do?" Markert hopeless wailed. "We only have an hour before the Rockets are expected on stage!"

"Never worry Russell," I assured him. Turning to Sherman, I then asked my boy, "Sherman are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Knowing full well what was going to happen next, Sherman and I smiled at each other and happily declared, "Training montage!"

However, due to the nature of which you are consuming this material, I'm sure you are aware of how it is not an incredibly visual medium. Rest assured, I promise you that was an incredibly humorous and productive montage filled with non-gender biased slapstick. Using his years of dance training and choreography mastery, Markert was able to devise exercises that helped with the dancers' upper body strength and hip flexibility. I, on the other hand, devised a scientifically proven formula to help the dancers understand how much momentum they would need to kick their legs to a rough 180 degree angle. Sherman, noticing how sweaty the dancers were becoming while they rehearsed, suggested a method of 'fabric touch' that greatly reduced the dancers' need to rely on the lady next to them, which helped boost the balance and productivity even further.

As expected, our efforts had not gone to waste with the Missouri Rockets ready for their grand debut just minutes before they were expected to go on stage. No more were they a disorganized mess and constantly falling over each other thanks to the three of us- it truly was a sight to behold!

"Thank you so much Mr Peabody and Sherman!" Markert happily thanked us as he shook our hands in good bye. "With these fabulous high kicks, we're sure to knock the socks off of Broadway!"

And knock the socks off of Broadway they did. The patrons adored the Missouri Rockets and their signature high kicks – surely a feat none have done before in such magnitude – that a certain showman took the Rockets in for many more gigs that would one day lead to them being the famous Rockettes.

"Gee Mr P," Sherman mused as we headed back to the WABAC, "I was real worried that the Rockets wouldn't be able to get their routine down in time."

"I wasn't." I proudly proclaimed. "I knew they'd get the '_pointe_' eventually."

With a sly wink at the camera and an iris out, our time travel adventure had successfully concluded.

. . .

"Well wasn't that an exciting Time Travel adventure!" Mr Peabody addressed the audience as everyone came back from the segment. With a smile, he turned to Jane to politely ask, "What did you think about it, Jane?"

"Hmm..." came the thoughtful hum. "I found it… a bit improbable."

"Improbable?" repeated the dog, no less amused.

"I also think that you were trying to impress me."

To this, Mr Peabody laughed. "Oh well, now I find _that_ improbable!"

Enjoying the small joke, the audience started to laugh loud enough for Peabody and Jane to hear them from the Time Travel chair. Hearing them made Jane flinch- started to get up and head for the door.

"Mr P, I can't do this." she told him.

"W-why?" Peabody immediately questioned, getting up to stop her from leaving. "Everything's going great, the episode is almost over… Why would you want to leave now?"

Jane looked down at Peabody with a conflicted look. "Don't… don't you ever get overwhelmed?"

"By what?"

Giving an exasperated groan, Jane then said, "I dunno, all of this?" as she gestured at the entirety of the stage. To further driver her point, she even emphasized the lights, camera crew, and audience. Looking from her, to the things she gestured to, and then back again, Mr Peabody started to frown.

"Jane, I don't understand."

"Of course you don't..." Jane mumbled under her breath. After some quick thinking, she then said (quite loud enough for everyone to hear), "Mr Peabody, I really, really like you. What I _don't_ like is that every minute of our relationship is going to be seen my a national audience. I'm not saying that 'it's you' or 'it's me,' I'm saying that I'm scared for my safety (and my daughter's) if our relationship is always going to be chronicled on your show like a bad sitcom. What if there's some wacko out there that's watching this, and is all like 'oh she's pretty cute, I could be a better partner to her than that dog' and then takes the incentive to track me down? That is to say, I don't hate your show- it's formulaic, but simple. And I like you; I think you're courteous, smart, (your puns are bit predictable), and you've done everything in your power to try to make me comfortable this entire episode. I like that. I'm grateful for it. But I'm afraid of doing anything because of how everyone will see it, you know? Like, right now, I really want to cry, but I'm afraid to because someone will make a meme out of it!"

Finished with her rant, a dead silence filled the studio.

"Yikes." Sherman muttered under his breath. Likewise, even Mr Peabody was more than a little shocked at this. Ever since starting the show, he had gotten used to the showman persona that he had never once stopped to consider the less mentally stable that would watch the show. They were all fans in the end, right?

Making a decision right then and there, Mr Peabody took Jane by the hand and led her directly to center stage.

"Everybody, I have an announcement to make!" the dog then declared in a loud, clear voice. Not knowing what was about to happen, and fearing the worse, Jane started to pale.

"Mr Peabody, what are you-?"

"Just trust me Janie." he said to her in a calm voice. He then turned his attention back to the audience. "Studio audience, home audience, this lovely woman next to me is Jane Barlow."

"Hi Jane!" the studio audience replied without skipping a beat. Normally, such a call-response would have been quite amusing, but this was a time for seriousness.

"We're all very much aware of Jane and I were on a date tonight, and we're all aware of how it was broadcasted to our home audience without a second thought. Jane and I met in a rather humble way; just by the bus stop in the middle of a rather terrible storm. We talked for awhile before finding each other's presence comfortable enough to be vulnerable. It sounds incredibly sappy, and it is, but I love Jane. And, if you know me well, you'll know that you'd be hard pressed to get me to say that word again." (he gave a small pause here, to make the sure the audience understood how serious he was.) "In retrospect, we're _both_ way out of each other's leagues, and yet, we both agreed to a date tonight. To no fault of Jane, our time alone was spent with all of you- much to her dismay. Which is why after today (should she want to) I will make sure that all our dates from here on out are done either during the day or after the show." Mr Peabody turned to Jane now, taking her by the hand and smiling. "However, should Jane decide she wants to be on the show, I have no problem with her dropping in. Besides, we could do with another straight man on the show."

"Straight?" Jane repeated in a confused voice. "I thought you told me you were aspec?"

Mr Peabody gave Jane an odd look before realizing she was joking. Giving each other a smile, Jane and Peabody gave each other a tight hug of appreciation- earning an adoring 'aw' from the audience. When they came back up, Mr Peabody then suggested,

"Maybe even next time, you could bring Eleanor with you. Sherman could do with a different dynamic on stage."

"I'd like that." Jane gently agreed.

"Woo!" Sherman loudly whooped, reminding everyone that was still there. "I'm getting a little sister!"

"Sherman, that's not-" Mr Peabody and Jane both tried to deny at the same time, but stopped when realized they were talking in unison. They both blushed- Mr Peabody being the first to catch himself before telling the audience

"Well, that's our show ladies and gentlemen! Say goodnight Janie."

"Goodnight Janie!" Jane happily declared while she, Peabody, and Sherman waved as the credits started to roll, ending another successful episode of the Mr Peabody and Sherman Show.

* * *

_**Production Notes: Phew, I think I burnt myself out on this one. After this, I'm not sure if I'll do another. I'd like to, though, maybe a unique 'lost' episode for each season, and then picking one episode from the canonical seasons to do a 'Barlow Remix' to (excluding The Wrath of Hughes and Return of the Guapos). What I like most about the fan episodes is seeing what everyone does for Time Travel- you can tell what their personal interests are by which historical (or important to them) person they know. I'm a lady of culture myself (Viscom major ftw!) but have some ideas on some recognizable folks like Henry Ford (who pretty much invented Rhythm Heaven) and Marie Curie (who had a slightly worrisome rock collection).**_

_**That being said, if you liked this, say something! A lot of planning went into this story (I had three separate documents for this story: the plot outline, the time travel adventure, and the main story) and I want to make sure it didn't go down in vain! Jane's 'I like you, but not the camera' speech, and Mr Peabody's 'I know this, and I still love you' assurance was planned since the beginning- but I refused to write it beforehand just in case. It ended up about the way I wanted it to go, so I'm super proud of that. ^_^  
**_

_**Thank you for reading and remember, Mr P absolutely**_**** was** _telling that particular time travel to impress Jane._**


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